People For the American Way

Standing United Against Harmful Policy Riders

Eight days out from the December 11 government shutdown deadline, clean budget advocates are standing united against harmful policy riders that advance ideological agendas rather than fund must-needed programs and services for the American people.

Unfortunately, nearly all of the appropriations bills approved this year have included deeply divisive policy riders that-if attached to an omnibus spending package-could lead to yet another unnecessary political impasse or even a damaging government shutdown. To avoid these harmful outcomes, we strongly urge you to bring forward legislation to fund the federal government that is free of poison-pill provisions.

We urge Members of Congress and Senators to oppose flawed funding proposals . . . if they come to the floor attached to the omnibus funding package. We further urge the administration in the strongest possible terms to oppose any funding package that includes these or any other dangerous legislative proposals. If included in a final package, any ideological policy riders would undo key safeguards and protections for Main Street.

As Congress continues its attacks on Planned Parenthood, which provides critical, high-quality health care services to millions of women, men, and young people, the undersigned organizations write to strongly oppose any consideration in year-end funding legislation of ideological policy riders that are harmful to women’s health and to support efforts towards a budget deal that stops sequestration and raises the spending caps that continue to harm women’s health.

Opponents of women’s health have used the appropriations process to undermine women’s access to comprehensive reproductive care, including access to safe and legal abortion. We continue to strongly oppose policy riders that deny insurance coverage of abortion for women enrolled in Medicaid, women who work for the federal government, women who live in the District of Columbia, and others.